The Biomedical Informatics Core in IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)3 will increase access to biomedical informatics resources and expertise both on- and off-site by facilitating a distributed core to enable training and the use of biomedical informatics in INBRE research. By appointing a biostatistician with clinical research experience as Lead ofthe Biomedical Informatics core, and by providing biostatistical support via consultants, we will increase the basic and translational research capacity ofthe INBRE faculty at University of Alaska (UA). To meet the full range of biomedical informatics needs at UA, particularly those needs that go beyond our current capacity, we will make funding available for contractual services with expert biomedical informatcians and programmers in specialized fields. We will target western INBRE biomedical informatics sites for collaborative contractual services and exchange of expertise. As a part of these contractual services, we will leverage our position and association with INBRE, to require contractors to provide our group with introductions and talk to our researchers about the services they are providing, as well as follow-up consultations after the work has been done. The Biomedical Informatics core will also provide training opportunities and pilot award funding for project utilizing biomedical informatics technologies. Trainees, post-docs, staff and faculty members will be invited to attend formal biomedical informatics workshops, and to visit other institutions/collaborators with specialized expertise. The Core will offer 2 week intramural biomedical informatics workshops on the UA Fairbanks campus. Further, we plan yearly competitions for multiple pilot awards that will enable researcher to initiate projects that require advanced biomedical informatics resources, such as next generation sequencing technology and/or proteomics or metabolomics profiling. Recruiting a biostatistician with clinical experience as director ofthe core, and providing biostatistical support via consultants, will increase the translational research capacity of bioinformatics at UA. By accomplishing these goals, we will enhance collaboration with other western IDeA states as well as build bioinformatics and enhace translational research capacity at UA.